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War of Spirits
The War of Spirits resulted from an attempt by Hantei XVI to overthrow the Toturi dynasty. With vast numbers of spirit samurai who found themselves once again alive after the Battle of Oblivion's Gate the Empire became overpopulated, and could not support the influx of thousands of new fully grown adults. Since the circumstances of their new found life was unnatural, Toturi I ordered all spirits to commit honorable suicide to relieve the Empire of the burden and restore the balance of the Celestial Order. While many did this, a large portion were dissatisfied with the Empire they found themselves in, and many had old feuds, dreams, and goals they felt they could now accomplish with a second chance at life. The war would last from 1138 to 1150. To his credit, Hantei XVI was able to unite a mixed clan force with massive generational gaps dividing it, and effectively rampaged across the Empire, spreading huge amounts of destruction. Hantei's Demands After years of preparation and monitoring the political climate in Rokugan the returned spirit of Hantei XVI demanded in 1138 that the Jade Throne be relinquished to him as the last remaining Hantei. Toturi I refuses, stating the Hantei dynasty is dead and the blessing of the heavens is on him and his line. Hantei XVI and most of the reborn spirits declare war on the Empire to claim the throne. The conflict turned into a slow war of attrition between the living and the "dead". 3E, p. 24 The War within the Clans The Crab Much to the Crab Clan's chagrin, at Hantei XVI's side was Hida Tsuneo, a former Crab Clan Champion and acknowledged to be perhaps one of the greatest generals the Crab have ever produced. The Crab Clan finds itself in the difficult position of continuing to defend the Kaiu Wall from the horde and defending against a Spirit army attacks from the north. An understanding is established, in which the Crab does not place its full might into the War and the Spirit armies leave the Kaiu Wall alone. This however does not stop the Spirit armies from taking many of the large rice fields the Crab use to produce the bulk of their food. One of the few noted confrontations among the Crab was at Sunda Mizu Dojo, where Hida Tsuneo led an ineffective siege against his former dojo.Samurai, p. 16 Some Nezumi, most notably the Shadow Runners Tribe, assisted Crab Clan Champion Hida O-Ushi in her battle with Hida Tsuneo. The Crane The pro-Toturi Crane forces were led by Daidoji UjiSotCrane, p. 34 and Regent Kakita KaitenSotCrane, p. 44. During the war, the returned spirit of Isawa Akiko sought refuge among the Crane, eventually leading to her marriage to Doji Kurohito. Unbeknownst to the Empire, Hantei XVI was hunting Akiko and any other spirit from the dawn of the empire who had knowledge of the artifact Isawa's Last Wish. SotCrane, p. 69 The Mantis The Mantis clan was oddly absent for much of the fighting during the War of the Spirits. While many felt that the new Great Clan had abandoned the Empire to its fate, the truth is that Yoritomo Aramasu was leading his own war in the Ivory Kingdoms to restore their Maharaja to power. One notable exception was that of Yoritomo Kitao and the ship Bitter Flower, who smuggled weapons to Hantei XVI's armies.Rokugan, p. 150 The Phoenix In 1150, as the war is turning in favor of Toturi, Hantei XVI fled to Phoenix Clan lands and blackmailed the Phoenix Clan Champion, Shiba Tsukune, to side with the spirit armies. To accomplish this, he ordered Agasha Tamori and Hida Tsuneo to kidnap the Phoenix's children. When an attempt by Isawa Sachi, Shiba Aikune, and Isawa Nakamuro to rescue Isawa Yaruko, daughter of Isawa Taeruko, failed, young Yaruko was murdered by the forces of the Steel Chrysanthemum to provide an example to the rest. Following this brutality, the Phoenix grudgingly agreed to aid the spirit armies, in order to preserve the future of their clan. 4W, p. 109 The Unicorn One of the most notable battles of the war was the Battle of Shiro Iuchi, which took palce roughly midway through the war. The Steel Chysanthemum's armies had surrounded Shiro Iuchi and had almost stormed it until the Imperial Legions, Bayushi Paneki and the Scorpion armies, and the forces of Morito arrived, eventually routing the spirit armies. SotUnicorn, p. 41 The decisive victory led to the recognition of Morito and his followers as the Ox Clan in 1145. SotUnicorn, p. 10 Battles Beiden Pass In 1150 the majority of the spirit army was led into Beiden Pass by the Scorpion Clan in an attempt to gain an advantage. In reality Phoenix and Scorpion shugenja were lying in wait to collapse the pass onto the army. Most of the Hantei's army was killed, including Hida Tsuneo, Hantei XVI's general. The End of the War With the bulk of his forces gone the Hantei enters into negotiations for peace with Toturi. Even though the Empire could easily crush the remaining spirits Toturi shows mercy upon them by allowing them to return to Yomi. This was done by the Phoenix creating a portal the spirits could go through on a cliff near Otosan Uchi, which they called the Leaping Place. As a part of Hantei's treaty, Toturi's youngest son Naseru would take the Hantei name and be fostered to Hantei XVI's home in Otosan Uchi and the remains of the Agasha family in the Dragon Clan would change their name to Tamori. Aftermath The War of Spirits raged for twelve years, making it the second longest conflict in the history of Rokugan. However, unlike the longest conflict, the Crane-Crab War, the War of Spirits was spread out throughout the entire Empire, making it far more devastating. Rokugan was also coming off of two major wars already, with only roughly two years separating the Clan War and the War Against the Shadow and just five between that war and the War of Spirits. References Spirits